Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Overture
2. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Quel guerriero - su bruno destriero...Questo sacro augusto stemma
3. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Una preghiera unanime per Gemma...Mi togliesti a un sol ardente
4. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Nuove contese! Oh cielo!...Una voce al cor d'intorno
5. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Nessun sogno a te predisse...Egli riede? oh, lieto istante...Ite: festegi ognuno
6. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. O vergogna? me infelice!...Perchè il Conte scacciami? Perchè?
7. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Dritto al segno vibrasti, io l'ho ferito...Lode al forte guerriero, ed onore
8. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Qui un pugnale! Ch'l confisse...Ah! nel cuor mi suona un grido
9. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Guido! Io tremo! Questo sange?...Un fatal presentimento
10. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Assassino che il ferro immergesti...S'avanzi il reo. Infido saraceno!
11. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Tigre uscito dal deserto...Un suo sguardo, ed un suo detto

Disc 2:

1. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Mio signor, non più mio sposo
2. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Di' ch'io vada in Palestina
3. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 1. Basta, o Gemma. Ah! ch'io non posso...Fui tradita, ah, disleale!
4. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 2. Come luna, che al tramonto...Mi suonan pianto così mesti accenti
5. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 2. Ecco il pegno ch'io le porsi!...Questa soave immagine
6. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 2. Vieni, o bella, e ti ristora...Dolce l'aura qui spira, ameno è il loco
7. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 2. Non fuggir che invano il tenti
8. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 2. È dessa in mio potere...Odi me, iniquo
9. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 2. Quella man che disarmasti...D'Ida è pari la beltà
10. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 2. Tutto tace d'intorno e sol rischiara
11. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 2. Eccomi sola alfine...Da quel tempio fuggite...Un altare ed una benda
12. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 2. O giusto ciel! Che sento?
13. Gemma di Vergy, opera: Act 2. Chi m'accusa, chi mi grida

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #139691 in Music
• Released on: 2003-04-08
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Customer Reviews

Caballe in a bel canto tour de force
Gemma di Vergy was one of Donizetti's more popular serious operas but has long since disappeared from the active repertoire. The liner notes to this Opera d'Oro release of a live performance reveal why: the title role is fearsome in its vocal demands, requiring mastery of a huge range, power in high notes and flexibility in coloratura. Caballe herself is quoted as saying she found singing one performance of the role more difficult than singing three Normas. There is a legendary Carnegie Hall performance of her singing Gemma with Eve Queler conducting; unfortunately, this recording of another performance catches her not at her very best. Afflicted by illness during this run of Gemmas, Caballe omits some high notes, and some of those that remain are decidely strained. If pressed to the wall one must admit that top vocal honors go to Renato Bruson, her co-star, who is in stunning voice and gets the loudest ovations from a notably unenthusiastic crowd. Still, there are enough of Caballe's trademark pianissimi, creamy tones and flexibility in coloratura to make this a worthwhile buy for fans of both the diva and Donizetti. The sound quality on this issue, alas, is at best fair, the balance in particular being unsatisfying--judging from the prominence of the orchestra and the distance of the voices, microphone placement was far from ideal.

Gem of Opera; Flawed Recording
Gemma di Vergy is from the middle of Donizetti's career. He has already achieved fame with Anna Bolena, L'elisir d'amore and Lucrezia Borgia to name a few among the forty some operas he had so far written. When it opened at Scala in Milan on December 1934 it was a great success and his most popular opera in Italy for the next thirty years. When Bel Canto went out of favor, it also disappeared with the last performance recorded in Empoli in 1901. In 1975 Montserret Caballe' starred in a revival at San Carlo in Naples. She toured with it in Barcellona and New York. It is a very difficult role. Mme. Caballe' was about the only singer at the time with the technical acumen to assay it's taxing difficulties. The score has great merit and shows Donizetti as master of varied dramatic situations and ability to keep the pace going. It is a "page turner" of an opera. The setting is 15th Century France. The Count of Berry, Gemma's husband awaits the news of the annulment of the wedding because she is barren. She pleads (beautifully) with him not to do this. However the arrival of the next wife (Ida) forces him to dismiss Gemma. The tenor hero of the opera is unusual in that it is a muslim slave (Tamas). He will, in the third act,kill the Count out of his love for Gemma and kills himself rather than be taken from her. Gemma herself attempts to stab Ida out of jealousy but has a change of heart. Her aria-finale has a complete range of conflicting emotions with ringing declamations and soft pianissimos that just hang in the air. Perfect meat for Mme. Caballe's talents. It also shows the master craftsman Donizetti at his pulsing dramatic best to a "big bow-wow" ending. There are a few uneven passages in the opera but all in all it is a Gem.
Unfortunately the recording is not. This is a live performance at San Carlo December 1975 with varied results. Mme. Caballe' was off voice so did not include some of the high notes but her signature pianissimos are there. The orchestra sounds "tinny" but the men (the Count and Tamas) are ok. The overall experience is not pleasant. This is a particular pity for Caballe' fans. There are other recordings of this opera but there is not another Caballe' We can hope for a DVD someday when one comes along